The fighting game genre has always been intimidating for newcomers. Complex inputs, deep match-up knowledge, and the steep learning curve often scare off casual players. Yet 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years for the genre in recent memory, with multiple high-profile titles competing for attention alongside Street Fighter 6.
In the midst of this renaissance, Invincible VS stands out as one of the most intriguing entries. The tag-team fighter based on Robert Kirkman’s hit animated series game director, Dave Hall, delivered a refreshingly simple message to potential players:
“Everybody should play every fighting game. Fighting games are just fun.”
Hall, who previously worked on Killer Instinct, emphasized that while Invincible VS benefits from a strong licensed IP, the core appeal remains the pure joy of pressing buttons and competing. “We have a great IP here, and that’s going to make people want to look at it a little more,” he said, “but it’s fun to get in there, press buttons, and hit people. Be competitive if you want to be, go as far as you can take it.”
Hall’s own journey into fighting games began casually, but everything changed with the release of Street Fighter 4 in 2008. A colleague at his studio who placed third at EVO introduced him to the competitive scene, and Hall was immediately hooked.
“I was enthralled and fell in love,” he recalled. “As a developer, I wanted to make these games.” A few years later, he got the chance to work on Killer Instinct, describing the experience as “once-in-a-lifetime.” Now, returning to the genre with Invincible VS feels like a full-circle moment for him and the team.
The superhero nature of the Invincible roster made a tag-team format a natural fit, especially since the show frequently features multi-character brawls. Invincible VS becomes the second of three major tag fighters releasing within a roughly 10-month span, following 2XKO and preceding Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls in August 2026.
One of the biggest challenges for tag-team games has always been accessibility. Classic entries like Marvel vs. Capcom and Dragon Ball FighterZ are notorious for extremely long, high-damage “touch of death” combos that can feel punishing for newcomers. Hall and his team aimed to strike a better balance.
From hands-on time with the game, the assist system does an excellent job of recreating the chaotic, multi-person fights from the animated series. While the game still offers depth for serious players, it appears less punishing at lower levels of play than some of its predecessors. That said, Hall made it clear the team did not shy away from complexity.
“We really wanted to integrate teammates into the combo system, and that’s something we really concentrated on,” he explained.
The game also leans heavily into the cartoonishly violent and over-the-top tone of Invincible. Expect brutal, bloody finishers that feel right at home with the show’s signature style. A single-player mode with involvement from the show’s writers is also in development, which could help broaden the game’s appeal beyond pure competitive players.
When asked what success looks like for Invincible VS, Hall’s focus immediately turned to the fighting game community. The team has been highly responsive to feedback gathered during alpha and beta tests.
“We listen to all of it, for real. We do listen to every single part of it,” he said. “We continually do playtesting to validate we’re going the right direction, and we’re going to continue that until we ship.”
For Hall, the ultimate goal is straightforward: “For us, success is just having a badass game, and hopefully the fans come.”
With Invincible currently in its fourth season on Amazon Prime Video and maintaining strong viewership, the timing feels right for a fighting game adaptation. Whether Invincible VS can carve out its own space alongside Street Fighter 6, 2XKO, and the upcoming Marvel Tōkon remains to be seen, but the passion from its developers is clear.
At its heart, Hall’s message is refreshingly simple: fighting games are fun, and more people should give them a chance. If Invincible VS manages to capture even a fraction of that pure button-mashing joy while delivering the chaotic superhero action fans love from the show, it could become one of the more welcoming new entries in a notoriously difficult genre.